Really enjoyed this article. Was it Elizabeth David or Julia Child who recommended cooking with vermouth?? Cannot remember but at least the stuff doesn’t go bad. Using a fortified wine makes sense…what about an amaro?? Too bitter??
The one conclusion I have come to is never use a corked wine. Maybe it is all psychological but I swear the bad flavor lingers on.
I put white wine in the gravy for our family Sunday roasts. I thought that might introduce our children to classier gravy. They just complained that it was “too thin.”
The wine was either left over from Saturday night (Chablis usually) or one of those little bottles from Tesco.
The upshot was a flour and water mix as a thickening agent…
Never ever use corked wine for cooking! The bad flavors make it to the dish.
The only usage left is for making vinegar.
Or scrunching up cling film and jiggling it about in the bottle. It really does reduce the TCA dramatically. Possibly not total removal but enough to make the wine perfectly drinkable in my experience. And I’m quite sensitive to TCA.
Not that anyone believes me about the cling film…
I think Nigella is an advocate of vermouth too.
The cling film has to be made of polyethylene. Saran Wrap changed their formula and does not work well now. I found PE cling wrap at Whole Foods. The problem with this trick is that it removes the wine flavor too.
Great article that tests all the myths around this topic, thanks very much!
I’m going to try the cling film. Last night, a bottle of Ch Bernadotte 2010 turned out to be just corked enough to force me to open a second bottle.
I have kept a record of such things over a long period. It reflects the changes in the industry. Like Jancis, I am pretty sensitive to TCA.
Corked bottles in the 12 vintages 1995-2006: 72.
Corked bottles in the 12 vintages 2007-2018: 12.
David,
See if you can get info on what the cling film is made of. It will be better if it is polyethylene…aka PE.
I learned this trick when we had some TCA in a tank of wine. In that case, a large sheet of PE was used.
Judith and I believe you, Jancis - although it’s true that the rescued wine is normally less complex and interesting than we hoped, even if no longer tainted…
…and a 2020 academic study provided evidence for this trick:
https://ives-technicalreviews.eu/article/view/4540
As Mel points out, echoed in this report on the study in Wine Business International. polyethylene is essential:
https://www.wine-business-international.com/wine/news/proof-cling-film-removes-cork-taint
All very useful. Thank you for the link, Andrew.
I hadn’t realised the compostion of the cling film was so important, Mel. Will try ours next time I encounter a corked bottle. They are definitely still around!
My own variant of a roast chicken I learned from my ex-wife: preheat the oven to 400, fill the cavity with lemons and thyme, cover the dry skin with salt, pepper, olive oil, and Za’atar.
But to your point, put it all in a cast-iron frying pan and then added a half inch of wine. You could use anything. This time, however, I used the strangely orange 2010 Ribolla from Gravner. The resulty was not a gravy as such, but a very rich and fragrant juice to pour on the bird or mashed potatoes when done.
An esteemed wine author once showed me the bottle of dry Oloroso sherry he always kept by the stove as an all-purpose cooking elixir.
I have followed his example. There are few dishes it does not improve.
I always add Noilly Prat to the frying bacon/lardons when I make Spaghetti Carbonara and apart form the fabulous boom when I strike a match over it I am impressed with the flavour. (A word of warning that if you get too close you will definitely lose eyebrows.)
Yumm
One Portuguese trick that works very well is using the remaining of a decanted vintage Port with sautée mushrooms. The sediment give the mushrooms an extra earthy taste. Sediments from other types of wine work as well, but the Port gives a nice touch.